We were there in a flash, bursting into Lylanlone that had become the playground of utter nonchalance in the meantime.
"Where's the youth?!" I shouted, my voice tainted with authority they'd never experienced from me. It had a great impact. More leaves shifted in the gentle breeze.
No fairy cared about me, they all had their own business to attend to. "What in—" "Thy offspring art in the chaffers locate."
"The marketplace? Where's that, if I may ask?" I didn't quite wait for its answer, running whereto the Great Consciousness beckoned me.
"Thee require not a response. Wherefore asketh?" Grumbled Opal Woodpuff while following me closely.
Shooting through the air, I caught myself red-handed indulging in all the manoeuvres I had been barred from trying out due to my weakened state back in the days.
"Scales-covered wings~." The earlier ordeal might not have entirely passed without adverse consequences since I believed to hear some undesired input.
Nova Twinkleflame may or may not have proven her deranged mind well beyond what I considered perverted yet again.
"There she is!" I hollered, zooming in on the busy offender, the obvious object of bitter rancour originating from certain tradesfairies despair.
Sizing up the antsy place, I eventually understood Opal Woodpuff's nervosity in mentioning the active youth.
It was a battlefield. A tower defence game with costly bets. I didn't stop the fun immediately, savouring the moment.
But that stare originating from behind me... convinced me to move my ass. Jumping into the fray, I shoved aside the nearest bunch of fairies.
They had much against my abrupt interference, but so what? I didn't have the time... They weren't Opal Woodpuff, so why should I care?
Granted, the youth could have used some more training. Especially if the adversaries were so conscious about the fact that harming her was tantamount to committing suicide.
But Opal Woodpuff... I didn't wish to end up on her bad side, just in case. "Hey choom...," she didn't like my intervention much, hanging from my right arm all fours straddled.
The limbs were still crawling about, making for a comical sight. Turning her towards me, I experienced the world's most effective pout first-hand.
By only being on the receiving end did I already feel bad, as if I committed the most unpardonable crime. But there was still that stare...
"...you've played enough in my absence. Look how sweaty that got you. Youth, you need a bath." I felt as if parts of her had turned into glue.
Slimy and all sticky, that was how it felt holding her. Then I noticed the first fluff and the marvellous shape it was in, prompting me to chuckle aloud.
"Sir." Yet not for long. "Sir, are you planning to leave?" "Got a problem with me, dark fairy?" "Not exactly, Sir" looking back I discovered the fairy equivalent of a fat merchant.
Its belly reached its toes, whereas its arms and legs were almost as broad as they were long. What a stumpy creature. Ugly to look at.
Somehow, it even ended up wiping away sweat, making me question just where that bodily fluid came from. No wonder she took offence and wrecked their stalls. I'd act on such an impulse too...
"This sort of ugly—" "Pardon?" "...nothing. Pray tell. What do you want?" "Why? Compensation, Sir. What else is there to have? Cuddles, Sir?" "Never!" An exclamation spoken on reflex it failed to take notice of.
"That little, crazy br—" My glare made it change its words faster than I could press it hard for an excuse. How slimy merchants were, no matter the race!
"Bright child abused my precious stock." "Precious? Of greater worth than the youth?" The words were neutral, but the tone I spoke in made it wipe even more furiously.
She had to eat something in my absence, no? Couldn't live off empty air! "Three ounces of stardust, the heart of an ancient treant perfectly preserved...," Pricy but not exaggeratedly so.
She was of my lineage, after all! Eternals never cared for handouts. We rather starved! "...seven ounces of solar flare, fourteen ounces of herbal concentrate with dark properties stored for two-hundred years by using Dùll's method...,"
That... started to look a bit exaggerated. "Stardust? Solar flare? Herbal Concentrate? Heart of a treant?"
"—not only, Sir. There's still earthly essence with dark properties and the Drall fruit to account for. Six pieces, of which I only have seven in stock."
The dark fairy gestured downwards at its pompous persona, highlighting why the last piece was not eaten yet.
It also explained why the youth didn't want to leave easily. Since victory had just been within her grasp...
Her eyes were really staring daggers at the fairy and the pouch it hid away under the simple garbs it wore. She was drooling rivers.
"So," I was no longer sure of her innocence, "what do you suggest?" "For the time being, nothing, Sir." My thoughts were racing for some ominous reason.
"Since this is only one stall we're talking about. The other four fine establishments this... young lady raided are not included, Sir"
Even the slick merchant had trouble praising the youth. Which made sense, given it just so happened she hissed at him, claws extended and face contorted cutely.
Were it not for me, the almighty barrier locking her out of another round of scuffle, she would've jumped back into the fray immediately.
Yet what had me occupied most at the time were the faces of other dark fairies sharing its profession, having us encircled as they nodded away furiously.
One look and I was sure each one of them was missing some cherished goods. All at the same time as if put under a spell, they began to yack about their losses, each fairy more offended than the next.
For sure, not all was true they piled up on me, but there was sadly no smoke without a fire. And this... this was a damn bushfire without equals.
The cherry on top, almost bringing me to tears to boot, was the youth and her frivolous antics. She had nothing better to do than to consume another treasure just in front of the otherwise occupied bunch's popping eyes.
How she'd wriggled out of my grasp was a mystery I was bound to never uncover. However, what I so dearly needed to find a solution to was how to solve this conflict. Now.
Otherwise, the tradesfairies would utilise all the mana at their disposal and blast us to Kingdom Come!! ...and I'd look like the fool I was. In front of Opal Woodpuff's unamused eyes no less!
This way it might think I'd been taken over by their common enemy, the synthetic authority I overwrote not so long ago.
An idea came to me I shot down immediately. Magical folk and an IOU... was also no option either. This combination was bound to epicly backfire.
I was in dire need of something usable! "Oh... well." And an interesting choice I got. In my boundless despair, I sought help from the almighty lord of these lands. The Eastern Central Node.